Can-draining machine



Feb. 19, 1 24. 1,483,951

' E. L. PRICE CAN DRAINING MACHINE Fild Nov; 9. 1921 :5 Shgecs-Sheet 1 N INVENTOR s N zartz p ace ATTORNEY Feb. 19 1924, 1,483,951

E. L, PRICE CAN DRAININQ MACHINE Filed Nov. 9. 1921 IN VENTOR a7 Earl L.Price Y B 0 11M ATTORNEY v Feb. 19 1924.

7 1,483,951 E.- L. PRICE cm mmmme momma File Nov. 9. 192; Y a Shees-Sheet 3 2/ INVENTdR E42! L,Prlle ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 19, 1924 EARL L. PRICE, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

CAN-DRAINING MACHINE.

Application filed November 9, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EARL L. PRICE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Can Draining Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a draining machine, and especially to a machine for inverting and draining packed cans containing washed, wet fruit and the like. The fruit canning .industry has today reached enormous proportions and competi- A tion between the many packing plants in operation has accordingly become comparatively keen. To insure a high grade mar ketable pack several problems must be considered; for instance uniformity in size of the fruit being packed is one factor; thorough washing of the fruit before packing in the cans is necessary to insure sanitation and appearance, and above all-the sugar content of the syrup applied must be considered as this doesnot only affect the keeping qualities of the fruit, but also the taste thereof. Forthisreasonit is not only desirable, but almost necessary, that the wash water adhering to the surface of the fruit be thoroughly drained off or removed before the syrup is applied, as any water remaining on the'fruit or in the cans will naturally dilute the syrup and thereby vary the sugar content. I

Ma'chines for automatically receiving, inverting and draining the contents of cans are not broadly new, but most machines in use today are rather complicated in construction and have a limited draining period and capacity.

The object of the present invention is to generally improve and simplify machines of this character, and especially to increase the draining period to insure complete removal of the water content, and at the same time to materially increase the capacity of such machines, or in other words the number of cans handled per minute.

Furtherv objects will hereinafter appear.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to Serial No. 513,920.

runway a is an endless can conveying sprocket chain 6, and; secured thereon, at equally space-d intervals, are can feeding, lugs 7 Disposed at each end of the frame are j ournaled members 8, and .turnably mounted in each set of journal members are shafts 9 on each of which issecured a pair of interspaccd sprocket gears 10 and 11. Supported by each. set of aligned sprocket gears 10 and 11 is an endless chain 12, and dlsposed between the chains are perforated plates 13. Formed integral with eachplate 1s a T-shaped conveying arm 14,, and secured tothe frame A anddisposedat each side of the conveying arms are side guidlng bars 15 and an exterior gu-idingplate generally indicatedatB. .Theguiding plate is secured at the lower end,'as at 16., to one side of the runway 6. It is next extended horizontally, asat 17, to receive the cans dicated at 18. The plate is then bent .to form a semi circle asat .19, and it is again extended horizontally, as at .20, to form a finally terminates in a horizontal portion 22, which is attached to the opposite side 'ofthe runway 6, as at 23. In other words the plate B conforms/to the path of travel assumed by the sprocket chains 1 2and cans delivered by 'the'runway 6 will therefore -en-. gage the perforated plates 13 and stay engagement therewith during inversion of the cans as will hereinafter be described.

The spacing between the conveyin'g ar ms 14; and the lugs 7 is equal. The linearspeed .oftravel is also equal and for this reason it isobvions that a'uniform speed must 'be maintained and that a common drive will be preferable. This driving connection is generally indicated at C. It consists of. a pair of journal members 24. in which is turnably mounted a shaft 25. Secured cn ,nism as a whole.

pinion 28 secured on the shaft 9, which supports and drives the sprocket gears 11. The endless can conveying chain supported by the runway 6 is driven from the sprocket gear 26 by means of a chain 29, and a uniform speed is thus maintained; this being essential as the travel of the feeding lugs 7 with relation to the conveying arms 14 is of considerable importance. A pulley or other driving connection, such as indicated at 30, may be employed to drive the mecha- This may be mounted. on one of the shafts supporting the endless chain conveyor 6 as here illustrated, or otherwise disposed, as the location of the same is obviously only a matter of choice.

In actual operation cans packed with washed fruit are placed onthe endless conveyor 6. As this is continuously moving, cans will be delivered one by one to the cross conveyor consisting of the chains 12 and the conveyor arms 14. Each canentering will be removed by the arms 14.- and will be carried first over the fiat portion 1?, and then around and in under the curved portion 19; the cans assuming complete in verted position when passing under the up per portion 20. The sg iacing between the sprockets 10 and 11 is such that the cans remain in the completely inverted position a sufficient length of time to insure perfect removal of any water which may adhere to the surface of the fruit, or which may otherwise have collected in the cans. For the purpose of collecting such drain water and to prevent it from dripping down in the entering or discharging cans, a collectingpan- 4-0 is eu'iployed. This pan is disposed directly below the chains 12 and is suitably supported with relation to the main frame A; all drain water collected being discharged through a pipe ll, which delivers the water to a main collecting pan disposed below the machine as indicated at 42, that is. the cans are gradually inverted while passingaround and in under the curved portion 19. This waterdrains downwardly through the mechanism and is caught by the pan 4-2. The main water content of the cans is however removed during the com plete inverted position assumed, and it is therefore caught by the pan d0 which overflows or discharges into the pan 4-2; the water being drained away from the pan 42- in any suitable manner or by means of a pipe 4-8. After the cans have travelled around the upper portion of the conveyor. it is again necessary to reinvert the cans; This is accomplished by passing them around and in under the curved portion 21. They here gradually assume an upright position and are completely righted when the horizontal portion 2-2 is reached. I The cans being impelled or kept in constant movement during their entire travel with lateral movement with relation to the plate 22 is caused by an angularly disposed SldB guide 44: which forms a terminating endot the main side guide 15. Duringthis advance movement imparted by the angularly disposed terminating end l i, each can will gradually travel with relation to the chain 6, or in other words be replaced thereupon, and when complete alignment is obtained one of the lugs 7 will'reach a point of .engagement and thereby remove the cans in successive order. lug 7 is delivering a can, the lug in advance thereof will travel into engagement with relation to a drained can and will remove the same. Similarly while one arm 14 engages an entering can to remove it with relation to the feeding conveyor, another arm 14 will be returning a drained can to the feed conveyor and the returning can will at the same time travel laterally with In other words, while one relation to said arm 14- to release itself with relation thereto, as such movement is imparted by the guide member 44. When complete released position is assumed, a drained can will be re-deposited on the conveyor 6 and a lug 7 will engageand re vcyor. By increasing or decreasing the spacing of the sprockets 10 and 11, any length of draining period desired can be obtained, and

as this is possible, it is obvious that the capacity, or in other words the number of cans handled per minute, may be increased or decreased as desired. A tool-proof, simple mechanism is employed; perfect draining'of the contents of the cansis secured,-and any capacity desired may be obtained without interfering with the draining of the can contents. The mechanism shown is rather specifically illustrated and for this reason merely shows one storm of construction. The frame for instance consists of angle and strap iron, but may obviously consist of frame castings or the like, if desired. I also Wish it understood that various changes in form and proportion may be resorted to Within the scope of the appended claims, similarly that the materials and finish of the several parts employed may be such as'the experience and judgment or" the manufacturer may dictate or varying uses may demand. I

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a draining machine oi the character described, a can conveyor, an endless conveyor disposed at right angles to the first conveyor and including a relatively long upper substantially horizontal stretch, said second conveyor being adapted to remove the cans from the first conveyor and redeliver the cans to the first conveyor, and during removal and redelivery of the cans from and to the first conveyor, inverting a plurality of cans at a time on said relatively long horizontal stretch of the endless conveyor.

2. In a draining machine of the character described, a can conveyor, an endless conveyor disposed at right angles to the first conveyor and including relatively long up per substantially horizontal stretch, a relatively long frame having rounded ends enclosing the second mentioned conveyor and adapt-ed to cooperate with the latter to guide the cans through the machine, saidsecond conveyor being adapted to remove a can from the first conveyor and redeliver the can to the first conveyor and between the removal and redelivery of the can to the first conveyor can to the first conveyor and between the re moval and redelivery of the can to the first conveyor carrying a plurality of cans in verted across said stretch from end to end thereof, and means whereby to slightly deflect laterally the cross travel of the discharging can adjacent the first mentioned conveyor in the direction of travel of the latter, so as to slightly advance the discharging cans with relation to the entry cans and thereby prevent interference of the entry cans and.

discharge cans adjacent the point of entry and discharge to and from the second main conveyor.

, EARL L. PRICE. 

